THE RULE OF LAW AS A SYNCHRONISING FACTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL SECURITY SYSTEM

Abstract

The article is devoted to the legal issues of international security. The author states that in the eleventh year of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and the third year of the full-scale invasion, instead of international law and order and international security based on clear norms of international law, humanity has a “world disorder” based on constantly changing “red lines” and the danger of a new world war. Currently, not only the UN, but also the international legal system is based on the principle of sovereign equality of states, which was formed in classical international law, where the concept of jus cogens was just emerging and had not yet been legally recognized and enshrined. Instead, in modern international law, the concept of peremptory norms of international law and erga omnes obligations has become universally recognized through the practice of the International Court of Justice.

The author is convinced that the logical development of the jus cogens concept can only be the legal enshrining in the UN Charter and the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties of 1969 and 1986 of the principle of the rule of law and the legal nullity of not only international treaties but also any unilateral acts of States if they are inconsistent with jus cogens. The principle of sovereign equality of states, state immunities, and the “veto” in the UN Security Council should not continue to be used in bad faith by states to avoid international responsibility for their illegal actions. Based on a scientific analysis of international law, the author substantiates the conclusion that the International Court of Justice is not effective enough to ensure the rule of law. After all, the mechanism of enforcement of the ICJ's decisions is based on the UN Security Council, and therefore is absolutely helpless against the permanent members of the Security Council if they abuse their “veto power” (as Russia is now systematically doing). According to the author, the lack of the rule of law principle in international law makes the entire international legal system and international security law as its subsystem illusory. The author substantiates the view that only the rule of law can become a universally recognized, clear and understandable guideline, a stabilizing and synchronizing factor that will reduce the “entropy” of the international security system.